A Fully Online Degree Program Nursing ’ s Experience at SUNY Plattsburgh David Curry and JoAnn Gleeson-Kreig Presented at CIT 2007 June 1, 2007.

A Fully Online Degree Program

Nursing’s Experience at SUNY Plattsburgh

David Curry and JoAnn Gleeson-KreigPresented at CIT 2007 June 1, 2007

Meeting the various college and department requirements to complete an entire degree online for distance learners requires a variety of technologies for both teaching and advising. How Plattsburgh State's Nursing program has met this challenge will be discussed.

What you are here to learn

Objectives

Brief history of Plattsburgh’s distance learning nursing programSpecific challenges to earning a degree without setting foot on campusEngaging and retaining students at a distanceFaculty needs for success in teaching and advising

History of Plattsburgh’s Online Nursing Program

1984 – 425 on-campus nursing majors and 18 full-time faculty1985 – 350 on-campus nursing majors. Planning for RN-to-BSN program begins1986 – Approval for program received and first students register on-campus1987 – First RN students registered at ACC and faculty commute to teach

Why an Online Nursing Program?

Nurses with Associates degrees need a bachelors degree for career advancementThere are clear course differences between baccalaureate and associate degree programs Nursing research, community health, etc Sociology, developmental psychology, etc

Because they are already nurses, they don’t require clinical supervision by facultyUpstate New York is rural and travel for classes can be challenging

More history – Plattsburgh’s distance nursing program – the early years

1988 – 125 on-campus nursing majors and 125 RN Option students (PSU and ACC) Separate sections of the same RN Option course

– one at Plattsburgh, one at ACC Five non-tenured faculty not renewed

1990 – to capture more students, PictureTel grant proposal written and funded. Four Community College sites Single section of same courses via synchronous

ISDN line – 2-way audio-video, 4pm to 9pm “Talking heads” and technology problems

Challenges of PictureTel

Not quite full-motion video – choppy on ISDNSeveral tenths of a second delay – like talking over a radio, “over”While multiple sites were logged on, only the last one to speak was displayed to the instructor (what were the others doing?)Distant students jealous of local studentsISDN was expensive ($200/hr) – got left on one nightWho owned the product? Videotapes were made of each class to cover equipment problems – were they destroyed later?

More challenges

Each site required an hourly technician to boot up and shut down the equipment Another expense for 5-12 students/site

For some nursing courses that technician had to be a nurse – for example, NUR304 Physical Assessment, classroom with lab skills The price of an adjunct but not teaching the

course, just the lab section

More challenges

Graduation requirements – a problem http://web.plattsburgh.edu/academics/catalo

g/files/gened.pdf#gened page 50

36 credits from Plattsburgh, exempt from “senior residency” (30 of last 36)

Transfer 84 credits BUT only 67 from 2-year colleges (e.g. Associate degree RNs)

Our nursing courses = 28 credits, so 8 more Plattsburgh credits were needed General education courses were the answer, but…

How did Plattsburgh adjust?

While nursing was leading, more programs were expected to follow, therefore:1998, Labor/management agreement signed http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/uup/default.asp?

go=242 Terms of agreement are geared to

synchronous delivery of courses to sites with multiple students, i.e. PictureTel

Rights of faculty teaching distance courses and flexibility for campus were protected by agreement

What happened next?

PictureTel becomes increasingly expensive to support Equipment upgrades needed

Fewer students/site/course as students graduate and cohorts fragment Difficult to maintain 15-20 students/course Other possible sites developed

2003, Campus decided to go asynchronous Transition to SUNY Learning Network planned SLN training scheduled for Nursing faculty

And then?

SLN provided excellent classes re. Online pedagogy, but then,Campus decides to go with ANGELFaculty must transition again, though not as challenging as going online Most of SLN training very relevant

So here we are – not so brief, huh?

Throughout it all…

Recruitment and retention – separate but equal A critical support service with travel

Travel first to classroom sites, later to sites with potential students e.g. hospitals, etc.

Person must be knowledgeable about program and campus requirements Not necessarily a faculty member, though

sometimes done by chairperson Nurse is a plus, but not necessary either

Student Advising

The biggest challenge Adult learners, most working parents, with

obligations and high expectations Meeting the campus graduation

requirements without errors Finding general education courses, or

required science courses, “online” Art course from North Carolina – correspondence 4-credit Chemistry course from Maine Nutrition courses several places (but not

Plattsburgh until last year)

Teaching challenges

Physical assessment – a lab course Currently using a DVD of skills and students

practice on their own then come to campus for practical exam

Management and Leadership and Community Health – clinical courses with local preceptors needed Finding the preceptors can be challenging Chat sessions needed for students to share

experiences

Teaching challenges

Professional Issues – a Gen Ed course “Oral communication skills” – here’s

where the videos come in “Advanced writing requirement” –

several drafts of written work need evaluation Drafts need to get back and forth in timely

manner – “Track changes” helps a lot!

Student Advising

Advisor must track student progress Make sure transcripts arrive and are credited

to the student in Banner Make sure students know when a needed

nursing course will be offered

Must advise faculty on what courses needed and how many students to expectBe the “messenger” that gets shot when a course or section is cancelled - seriously

About BANNER and ANGEL

Can’t depend on them for tracking students If not registered for a course for a semester,

dropped from the major in BANNER Off-campus courses don’t count i.e. “Permission to

study off-campus” approvals Students will have a semester with no on-campus

course ANGEL “sweeps” BANNER for names of students,

therefore, can’t use ANGEL to communicate via Groups

Advisor must have own processes in place Excel, Access, and group email lists

About Communication

Though program online, students may not be – They are issued a campus email

address, but seldom check it Need to be taught how to forward to home

email account (just like faculty ) Telephone contact is often necessary Regular mail needed also – newsletter,

etc Forms available online, but…

Problems with Communication

Distance students don’t hear about all campus activities Honor society activities Pinning ceremony Graduation details

Duties assigned to new coordinator

About our students

Most are not ready for cutting-edge technology Remember, they’re adult learners

Their children often show them how to download, file transfer, cut-and-paste, etc

Some rural students still have dial-up Most miss the structure of the classroom

Still, they have high expectations (of both you and themselves)

About the technology

Watch out for “format” problems Require written work in .txt or .doc

Unless you want one submission in WordPerfect to challenge you

When you ask for “video” specify format VHS no longer standard – one faculty

expected videotape but got an mpeg and couldn’t view it

These videos were for campus-wide assessment of General Education – oops!

Speaking of General Education

Getting Gen Ed courses online can be challengingCampus leadership needed, since online program or department has no leverage outside their own domainShowing how many students you refer elsewhere may get results – may not

Advertising

Word-of-mouth has been our most important method – plus and minusOur potential students often work together

Faculty needs

Computer equipment and skills With upgrades, more training

Education for advanced technologies More training

Support staff for communication including mailing of papers, exams, etcAdministrative and union support

Questions? Comments?

Thanks for your attentionEmail questions to [email protected] [email protected]

Evaluations are online